Portret van August Hermann Niemeyer 1840 - 1855

Editor: This is Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Müller’s "Portret van August Hermann Niemeyer," an engraving from between 1840 and 1855. It has such a formal, almost severe quality. What strikes you about it? Curator: What I find compelling is how this seemingly straightforward portrait actually opens up questions about social mobility and representation in 19th-century Prussia. Who was Niemeyer, and why was it important to create and circulate this image of him? Was it about affirming his status? Reinforcing certain ideals? Editor: According to the Rijksmuseum’s page, Niemeyer was a German Protestant theologian and educator. How does knowing this affect how we interpret the portrait? Curator: It shifts our perspective. Think about the context: post-Enlightenment Europe. There was a rising middle class hungry for education and self-improvement. Niemeyer, as an educator, played a pivotal role. This portrait, with its neoclassical frame, subtly aligns him with ideals of reason, order, and civic virtue. But it also raises the question: who had access to these ideals and to having their image immortalized? Editor: So, the portrait isn’t just a likeness, but a statement about social values and power structures? Curator: Precisely. And it's an assertion of a certain type of masculinity linked to intellect and public service. It encourages us to think critically about who gets remembered and why. Do you see something new? Editor: I do. I didn’t think an engraved portrait could speak volumes about the social and intellectual climate of its time. Thanks, that's fascinating. Curator: The pleasure is all mine. It shows that what seems traditional, is anything but.